Rating 96/100

What a movie… What a movie… I was not prepared for what happened in those 2 hours and 40 minutes, but I think that was the point, not knowing what to expect. From the start, Goddard made that clear, showing that the plot was really up for grabs. I’m still unpacking the tiny details, even after watching it a second time and featuring it on my Podcast. 

Yes, you read that right. I host a film podcast where we talk all things technical with two of my favorite people. It will be live soon. I promise to shout it from the rooftops on Instagram, so make sure to follow me to stay up to date.

Back to the movie review… (because that whole podcast segway was not written in when I first did this, so please just bare with the weird transition.) 

I mean, just look at the two sides of the hotel, split down the middle between California and Nevada. Or as I noticed, the split between right and wrong - a common thread throughout the movie. When you watch it, you’ll notice the connection by the end. You can make a game out of spotting the crosses. 

Let me also add that this movie does not feel almost three hours long. Except for a much needed bathroom break, (I’m an old lady and I need to use the bathroom no matter the movie) I wasn’t waiting for it to be over, awkwardly pausing the movie to see how much time was left. The only slow part was near the beginning. All said and done, I see it as more of a break before everything hit the fan. 

Now. I’m going to just get all the bad things about Bad Times at the El Royale out of the way first. 

*sound of crickets*

Ummmmmm… What bad things? Please refer to the rating at the top. I’m kidding. There were a couple of loose ends I would have liked an answer to only because I’m curious. Watching it a second time though, I will say that the questions have shrunk. When I first wrote this review, which was right after my first viewing, I had a whole list of questions here. Not anymore. A second run through has rectified most of them. Before, I had mentioned that maybe there were things I missed, and I would say that that’s very correct. I did miss some things. However, all of these questions don’t mess with the overall plot of the movie. 

Takeaway… be prepared to watch the movie more than once. 

On to all the good things.

Acting. What can I say without repeating the same praise over and over? They were marvelous darling. All of them were marvelous. Even stuffy old Jeff Bridges, who I’ve never really been a fan of. Just believe me when I say that he was still the weakest of the bunch. However, Erivo blew me away. All of her moments were so powerful. Her speech at the end brought me to tears. And then I learned that she sang everything live… If I didn’t already plan on watching her in Harriet, I’m definitely pushing it up the list now. I can’t talk about the acting without also mentioning Hemsworth’s little dance… which was not planned. Yup… I about lost it watching him hold that pie and move his hips. 

All of the acting lended beautifully to the believability of the movie as well. If you can make me believe something, then I will happily follow you off a cliff. I mean that all in a plot sense. I would never really follow anyone off a cliff. Unlike Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, where the ending came out of left field, not even making sense in the plot of the movie, Goddard did it right. And I drank his cool-aide. Why wouldn’t a crazy cult leader be in the mix. Why wouldn’t there be two-way glass. It seems to make a lot of sense to me, even with how out there it was. Goddard, did it better. He worked every character into the plot. He made them a part of the theme. The key coming down to not going over the top with the ending. 

We’ve talked plot and crazy ideas and time and acting and the whole theme… which leaves the set design. 

I could say a lot about the set design. Not until I started to direct my own movies, did I understand the importance of color choices. You can’t just pick any shirt or couch for a scene. That was apparent in how considerate the design was in Bad Time at the El Royale. Color alone became another character. A huge flashing arrow to the theme. Mix it all with the lighting and you’ve got magic. When Darlene and Father Flynn sat in the car with the windows coated in rain so that there’s a softness as well as a beautiful reflection from the sign, I stopped paying attention to what they were saying. I was so lost in the beauty of the shot. Further research showed that they barely used additional lighting. Most of the set lighting was built into the set. 

Well… I’m dead. 

Goddard is pushing the boundaries. He did it with Cabin in the Woods and he’s done it again with Bad Times at the El Royale. It’s no duh that he’s ended up on my guaranteed watch list. I can’t wait to see what else he comes up with. 

Happy Watching

Love Kait